An agricultural harvester known as a “combine” is historically termed such because it combines multiple harvesting functions with a single harvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating and cleaning. A combine includes a header which removes the crop from a field, and a feeder housing which transports the crop matter into a threshing rotor. The threshing rotor rotates within a perforated housing, which may be in the form of adjustable concaves, and performs a threshing operation on the crop to remove the grain. Once the grain is threshed it falls through perforations in the concaves and is transported to a grain pan. From the grain pan the grain is cleaned using a cleaning system, and is then transported to a grain tank onboard the combine. The cleaning system includes a cleaning fan which blows air through oscillating sieves to discharge chaff and other debris toward the rear of the combine. Non-grain crop material such as straw from the threshing section proceeds through a straw chopper and out the rear of the combine. When the grain tank becomes full, the combine is positioned adjacent a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, and an unloading system, e.g., an unloading auger, on the combine is actuated to transfer the grain into the vehicle.
A typical header includes one or more cutters, e.g., cutter bars with reciprocating knifes, which cut the crop material that is harvested from the field. Once the crop material is cut, a conveyor system, which is positioned rearwardly of the cutter(s), catches the crop material and transports it to the feeder housing. The header may also include a rotating reel with tines or the like to sweep the crop material towards the cutter(s). Modern headers generally have cutters and attachments which are specifically optimized to harvest a particular kind of crop material.
Harvesting efficiency is an impetus of combine innovation. In order to increase harvesting efficiency, headers are continually designed to be wider to harvest more crop material in a single pass. Decreasing the number of passes and the overall harvesting time involved leads to increased harvesting efficiency. However, there are numerous factors constraining the design of large header widths. Some factors limiting the working width of the header include the ease of interchanging different headers depending on the crop material and various transportation constraints. The interchangeability between different headers can be rather burdensome for a user as the larger headers are more cumbersome to maneuver. Additionally, some of the larger headers cannot be interchanged expeditiously at the harvesting site. For large headers with a working width greater than the width of the combine, various transportation issues may arise when the header is transported from the point of sale or from one harvesting site to another. Some of the issues of transportation may include affects on the operator and other drivers on the roadway, the efficiency of hauling the header, the costs associated with transportation, and the wear and tear on the header during transportation due to its increased wingspan and weight.
With respect to transportation, public roadway regulations limit the width of any vehicle traveling on a public roadway. As larger headers have widths that are usually significantly greater than the allowed parameters, the headers typically cannot be carried by the combine on public roadways. It is known to transport a header lengthwise along its longitudinal axis using a separate transport trailer. It is also known to transport a header using a set of transport wheels that are permanently affixed to the header. However, transport trailers increase the cost incurred by the user, and regardless of costs, numerous headers now exceed the length and load bearing capacity of many transport trailers currently on the market. Headers equipped with their own transport wheels increase the cost of the overall system, and still the sheer size and weight of many headers render the use of the incorporated transport wheels impractical. Therefore, large headers may still pose issues even when the headers are transported via a separate trailer or with their own set of transport wheels.
What is needed in the art is an agricultural harvester that allows for greater header width and the ease of its transportation while still achieving the roadway requirements.